


Red Meat: Mirror

by babybrotherdean



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Demon Deals, Episode Remix, Episode: s11e17 Red Meat, Gen, Sam Winchester's Demonic Powers, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 18:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7184873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babybrotherdean/pseuds/babybrotherdean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Dean is the one shot during <i>Red Meat</i>, and Sam has to deal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Meat: Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> For an anon prompt:
> 
> _Hi! I recently saw a gif set of where a fan asked Jared what Sam would have done in Red Meat if Dean had been the one to get shot and that got me wishing we could've had an episode like that_

_“Dean?”_

His brother’s still chest and the distinct lack of a heartbeat lingers with Sam the whole way stumbling through the forest. Corbin and Michelle barely even register to him anymore, their conversation distant and unimportant. The only thing keeping him upright- the only thing that keeps him moving forwards- is the promise of returning to Dean’s body. Perhaps it’s a little morbid to be looking forward to something like that, but without anything else left to live for, it’s not like Sam’s been left with much of a choice.

Being dragged to the hospital, tazed and unconscious, is not a part of his plan.

He doesn’t know how long he’s out, but he wakes groggy and aching, in a hospital bed he immediately tries to leave, because with every second that ticks by, his brother’s body is alone, left to rot. Left to be found by the rest of the pack who might do God knows what to it-

He doesn’t get very far.

“You’ve got a nasty concussion,” the doctor tells him, pity and disapproval in her eyes at Sam’s restless shifting. She’s smaller than him, and he’s sure he could get past her- not that he wants to hurt her; she’s been nothing but kind to him since he woke up- but the sheriff still lingers at her side and Sam’s not entirely confident he’ll be able to avoid getting tazed. The last thing he needs is another setback, and trying to sneak out of a hospital where the staff are watching out for him while he’s already hurt, limping, having trouble moving normally, let alone silently…

It feels kind of like he’s run out of options altogether, confined to his room and staring at the chipped paint of the ceiling. 

He hardly expects a visitor, but it’s a small comfort to see that Michelle is okay. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she says, looks even smaller now in hospital garb and tugging her IV drip behind her. She’s in one piece, at least, and Sam tries to smile for her as he tilts his head to invite her into the room. It’s obvious she’s hurting, the way she shuffles across the floor, but at least she’s on her feet. “I just… I wanted to check on you, and- and to say I’m sorry. You saved us, you and your brother, and-”

She stops, swallows hard, and it’s almost surprising to see how torn up she is over- well. Over all of it. It’s a bittersweet feeling, knowing he isn’t the only one in pain with what’s happened to Dean, but he shoves that down. “S’okay. It’s, um- it’s what we do.”

She nods quickly, fingers tightening around the IV stand a moment as she glances down towards the floor. She seems to steel herself a little, looks up again and meets Sam’s eyes. “I, um… I never used to believe her, but my mom- she used to tell me that death… it’s not really the end.”

The words ring familiar, and something in Sam’s chest twists tight. Doesn’t seem important suddenly as his heart skips a beat and-

He doesn’t really think between making the decision to get up and heading to the door. It occurs to him that Michelle isn’t nearly as mobile as he is, so he stops and waits, adrenaline starting to pump through him as he remembers every time that this has happened before.

He knows how to fix this.

“I- I need candles.”

Maybe it’s his desperation fuelling him, but it’s easier than he expects to gather up the components he needs. Michelle is, surprisingly, completely on board with helping him. Sometimes he catches her giving him looks like she doesn’t know what else to do with herself, like this isn’t optional, and something twinges at the back of Sam’s head- but it doesn’t matter by the time they get themselves in an empty store room and Sam’s painting the devil’s trap on the floor, making sure everything’s arranged the way it’s supposed to be.

“You… you might want to step out for this.”

But she holds her chin high, stands up as straight as she can while she’s still clinging to the IV stand for support. “I’ve come this far,” she replies, voice shaking a little, and Sam doesn’t have the heart to send her away.

Crowley isn’t the one he wants to deal with right now. He lights the bowl of ingredients and watches as it goes up in black smoke, standing still and quiet as he waits.

The man appears between one blink and the next, and he hears Michelle gasp when his eyes flood red.

“Winchester,” the demon greets him, sounding more than a little amused. “Aren’t we past this?”

Sam isn’t here to play games, and he wastes no time in stepping closer, takes a deep breath before speaking. “I want to make a deal.”

And the demon- the demon fucking laughs at him, throws his head back and _laughs_ like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard. Sam doesn’t let it slow him down. “Dean’s life for my soul. A year, a month- hell, I’ll take a week.”

“Oh, Sam,” the thing manages once it’s caught its breath, and it’s grinning madly at him, looking for all the world like this is the best thing that’s ever happened in the entirety of its existence. “You really think I’m going to make a deal with _you?”_

And Sam- Sam’s not here to play games. He really, _really_ isn’t, because his brother is fucking _dead_ in some cabin in the woods, bled out by himself because Sam couldn’t stay by his side when he was fucking supposed to, and it’s all his fault, and this little _speck_ of a crossroads demon has the nerve to tell him no-

It comes easy like breathing when Sam raises his hand, fingers curling inwards towards the palm, and the demon stops laughing.

Ruby had always told him that he didn’t need the demon blood.

Sam’s focus narrows to the demon in front of him, to the barely-visible flickers of its true form. The thing is hideous, the way they always are, and he zeroes in on its squirming, writhing presence, presses his control in tight all around it, and- and it’s choking. Choking the way Alastair did all those years ago, and power is so palpably _real_ that he doesn’t know how he ever lost touch with it to begin with.

Doesn’t waste time to ponder that now.

“I want to make a deal,” he repeats, low and dangerous. Doesn’t even bother to think of Michelle anymore because he’s got the upper hand, now, and like hell he’s going to let it slip from his grasp. “You’re going to bring my brother back. Can you do that, or am I going to have to find someone else?”

He lets the demon struggle for another long few seconds, lifting off the floor until his toes are just barely brushing the tile before letting it drop, watching as it gasps for breath, chest heaving and breath scratchy. Its bravado is gone, and Sam doesn’t bother to hide the tiny smile that curls the corner of his mouth, humourless and empty.

“Dean- Dean isn’t dead,” it hisses, and Sam’s world stutters to a stop for another long few seconds.

_What?_

It’s not that the thing’s got any reason to lie, but- but Sam doesn’t want to cut any corners, and he breathes out hard before lifting his hand again. Breathes with the flow of power as it tightens around the demon and watches the thing scream as he burns it clean out of the vessel, turning around abruptly to leave the room.

“Sam!” And he’s forgotten all about Michelle until she calls out for him, stops short just in front of the door. Footsteps and the soft squeak of wheels and then she’s there, tiny and frightened but looking him in the eyes all the same, and he’s kind of quietly amazed by her strength in the face of everything that’s happened. Trauma does some crazy shit to people. “Where are you going?”

“Dean’s alive.” Sam wonders why she doesn’t ask about what he just did, but maybe there’s only so much crazy she wants to deal with in a day. “I need to go find him. He’s- he’s hurt, and he’s alone.”

He remembers the way his brother looked when they left the cabin and his chest aches all over again. There was too much blood for Dean to be okay, but _alive_ \- alive is all that matters, and he’ll take what he can get right now. “I need to find him.”

Unfortunately, things aren’t so much in his favour.

“Hey!” And it’s the damn sheriff again, the doctor trailing behind him and looking mildly irritated. “What are you doing out of bed? I’ve still got questions for you, not to mention some charges for assaulting a police officer-”

“You tazed him once already,” the doctor cuts him off, and Sam is, once again, thankful for her presence. He’s all but vibrating with energy, the need to help his brother, the tingling after-effects of using his powers. He’s got a lot of questions to answer, but none of them seem important right now. “Sam, you should be in bed. What’s going on?”

That, of course, is when they reach the room, and- well. There’s something distinctly Satanic about the setup he’s left behind, and Sam doesn’t have much of anything to say to defend himself. He ends up with his hands cuffed behind, breathing hard and heavy while the pair of them bicker about sedating him again, and- and thank God for Michelle, because all it takes is one look for her to go hunting for something to pick the lock.

He hears the screams before the handcuffs even hit the ground, and he barely has time to exchange a look with Michelle before he’s running out into the hallway.

Sam barely makes it in time to watch the sheriff get his throat ripped out by- by _Corbin_ , teeth elongated, eyes feral, and he stumbles through connecting the dots before shoving Michelle behind him just as she cries out for her partner.

“Michelle- get away from him,” Corbin says, looks for all the world like a serial killer with the blood dripping from his chin and hands. The doctor’s down, too, lying in a pool of blood a ways down the hall, and Sam- Sam doesn’t stop to think.

“Run!” he snaps at Michelle before lunging forward, and he takes Corbin to the ground on brute strength and a surprise factor. She listens to him, thankfully, and he pours all his focus into wrestling with- with a _werewolf_ , a full-fledged, transformed werewolf, and maybe this isn’t the best idea he’s ever had but he doesn’t have a whole lot of options.

He manages to keep the other man pinned for a mere few seconds before he’s overpowered, and Sam grunts as the air’s forced from his lungs as Corbin flips them over. He doesn’t waste any time, either; his hands are on Sam’s neck within seconds, eyes dark and crazed as his fingers tighten and Sam’s air is cut off.

“You’re not gonna get in our way,” Corbin snarls at him, and Sam struggles, but he’s fading fast and his head is throbbing and he’s trying to grasp at that power again, but it seems just barely out of reach-

A gunshot takes him by surprise, and the light fades out of Corbin’s eyes all at once as he slumps down on top of Sam. Sam breathes out hard, lets his head fall back to look behind him, and.

“Dean.”

Dean looks like shit, one hand pressed against his middle where Sam suspects he’s still bleeding. He’s beat to all hell, and after he lowers his gun, he doesn’t take any time before hitting the floor, breathing out hard all at once.

He glances up at Sam, then, manages a bit of a smile all the same. “Miss me?”

Sam lets his head thunk gently against the floor, and for a few minutes, he just laughs. Closes his eyes and shoves Corbin’s body off of him and ignores the sound of Michelle crying, and _laughs_.

-

Michelle’s a lot worse for wear after everything she’s been through, and Sam leaves her with their contact information just in case. He feels bad about leaving her, but Dean’s ready to hit the road and neither of them want to linger any longer than they need to. Sam takes the keys without asking, and Dean doesn’t protest as he’s sent to the passenger seat.

“One hell of a day,” Dean says, winces as he sits down. Sam’s got one eye on him as he starts the car, ready to check Dean’s stitches himself at every rest stop, even though he’s sure they’ll hold. Medical professionals tend to do a better job than he does. “So, um- you thought I was dead, huh?”

Sam’s quiet as he pulls out of the hospital parking lot, but he eventually nods. They probably need to have this conversation, however much he intends to keep to himself. “You seemed pretty fuckin’ dead, Dean.”

A nervous laugh, and then another sound of pain. Sam tries to keep his eyes on the road. Dean sobers up again a moment later, though. “What’d you do? When- when you thought I bit it?”

The air around them is fragile, and Sam almost misses the turn out onto the highway. He thinks about Michelle, about summoning the demon. Trying to lay down his own life all over again, the way his powers burst out of him after years of laying dormant.

Tightens his grip on the wheel and doesn’t look at Dean.

“Tried to save you.” 

It’s quiet, and it’s all he says, and Dean doesn’t reply. Sam’s the one who turns on the radio, because the silence is too much and they’ve got a long drive ahead of them.

Dean falls asleep by the time they reach the state line and Sam is left to be thankful he’s still breathing. He’s not sure how much farther he’d have gone if it turned out he wasn’t.

(A few hundred Tuesdays tell him _too far_.)

**Author's Note:**

> While Dean has a history of committing pseudocide in order to talk to reapers, it's not something Sam's ever done before, so I thought making a demon deal would be more up his alley (he went to demons to get Dean back when he went to Hell, when he went missing as a demon, etc). And all the talk of Sam's powers making a return got me thinking, so...
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! <3


End file.
